We were honored to have The Road Home included as part of the State Funeral Service for President Jimmy Carter on Thursday, January 9, 2025 at the Washington National Cathedral. It was the first song of the service, featured as the 'Introit' immediately following the Reception of The Body and before the Anthems in Procession.
This marks the third Presidential State Funeral that has featured Paulus music after inclusion in the memorials for Presidents Reagan and Ford.
The Road Home, a beloved choral classic, was written by composer Stephen Paulus with text by poet Michael Dennis Browne. Commissioned and premiered by the Dale Warland Singers in 2002, it has since grown to become Paulus's most performed and widely enjoyed work, selling hundreds of thousands of scores and generating performances across the world.
President Jimmy Carter once said, "I always thought music was our best ambassador...I think music is the best proof that people have one thing in common no matter where they live, no matter what language they speak." The Road Home couldn't be more fitting in how it conveys the universal desire to find one's way, return, and come home - timeless themes that have struck a chord and resonated with countless listeners across the world. One performer reflected on the piece, saying "it described certain feeling I could never explain on my own."
We've compiled reflections from Stephen Paulus and Michael Dennis Brown on The Road Home in our Work Story. Former Paulus performances in State Funerals for presidents Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford both featured Pilgrims' Hymn, and excerpted song from the one-act opera The Three Hermits.
The full State Funeral program can be found here. You can watch a livestream of the service here or on most major televised news channels.
For questions or press inquiries, reach out to Andrew Paulus (ap@stephenpaulus.com)
